How to create collections at home

Creating still lifes and compositions is rewarding, fun and brings instant results to the feel of your home. How you do it is up to you! From big to small, colourful to graphic, ugly to cute - take your pick of inspiration from the IKEA SAMMANHANG We Love Home book...

A collection of china ornaments in a glass-fronted cabinet.

A collection of horse ornaments on a white bench and a painting of a horse on the wall above.

Group by theme

If you're new to collections, this is a great way to start displaying. Keep it together by being bright and colourful. Or stick to one sort - like here - and go all in on horses. When you have many of one kind, you can also get away with less perfect individual parts. It's the total that creates the impact.

Ceramics and kitchenware displayed on tall metal shelving units.

Set up display shelves

Create sanctuaries for your treasured memorabilia so they have a safe place to call home. If you want a more polished look, keep the colour scheme together. Or try using a fascination - like sewing and tailoring - as an opportunity to present a beautiful collection. A specific theme, colour, style or time period is often beautiful when it's all put together.

Sewing equipment and books stored in white cubed units on a blue wall.

Gathering and grouping objects lets you lose yourself in an analogue world and opens up so many possibilities. Don't like the result? Try again!

Old toys stored in a clear drawer unit next to brown glass vases.

Use clear containers for your collections

Clear shelves and cabinets allow your displays to shine. If you like collecting fragile things, like shells and birds' eggs, or really small things like pearls and beads, try a glass jar. Collecting things in one creates a beautiful mass and makes them even more precious. For really important objects, a bell jar attracts extra attention and offers extra protection.

A collection of eggs in a glass dome and shells inside a glass jar.

Show your collections, enhance the beauty of things or make something fun out of the less beautiful. Things that don't look very nice by themselves can look great together.

A collection of blue vases on a white bench.

Curate objects by colour and type

Throughout life, you end up liking some things a bit more than others. Nothing wrong with that! Build a still life with all your blue vases and you've created true impact. Having a multitude of things that are almost the same is interesting and creates the kind of manageable drama a home needs.

Experiment until your collection feels good. Nothing is permanent, just move your items around until you feel it looks beautiful. If you're happy, it's right.

White crockery stored on open shelving above a kitchen sink and wooden worktop.

Show off everyday favourites

A still life doesn't have to consist only of collectables. So why not create an open-shelf display in the kitchen that makes you smile? Or group your favourite glassware by colour to create impact in a cabinet? Look around your home and you'll soon find unassuming objects that you can gather up into beautiful collections.

Glass vases stored inside and on top of a wall-mounted cabinet, grouped by colour.

Three products designed to display collections. The tall, glass-fronted MILSBO cabinet with black frame, the SAMMANHANG glass display box and the SAMMANHANG black display stand with 5 trays.

Organise and display your treasures

There's beauty in order. So celebrate your collections by keeping them organised and showcasing them on stands, cabinets and display shelves. Choose from glass door cabinets to products in the SAMMANHANG range, which has been specifically created with collections in mind.

We love home

Get inspiration and tips for creating a beautiful home that reflects you. With easy-to-try ideas by interior stylists Emilia Ljungberg, Emma Lange and Emma Persson Lagerberg, and featuring seven very personal homes by art director and lead stylist Hans Blomquist, this book is one you'll want to come back to time and again. Good to know? "You don't need a lot of money to create a personal home."

We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost.

Made by

Interior designers: Emma Lange, Emilia Ljungberg, Emma Persson Lagerberg, Hans Blomquist
Photographers: Debi Treloar, Sandra Werud, Johan Månsson, Mats Ekdahl, Oskar Falck, Daniel Wester